William Lewis & Son Student Model WL47 Viola

William Lewis & Son instruments offer quality student instruments with traditional innovation. This craftsmanship is blended with beautiful spirit and lacquer finishes giving students an opportunity to start on instruments that will encourage musical development. With a legacy in craftsmanship dating back to 1874, William Lewis & Sons is one of the oldest string instrument brands still in production.

"The solid carved spruce top provides an excellent sound board. The maple back and sides enhance greater projection as well as a refined tonal quality. True ebony pegs and fingerboard (not stained hardwood) facilitates reliable function and playability for many years. Full hand inlaid purfling (not painted) protects the solid top and back plates from splitting damage and demonstrates an attention to detail that other brands overlook. The delicately applied matte spirit varnish allows the top to resonate more freely to enhance the tone and projection of the instrument. Each instrument is set up by hand in our Cleveland Ohio facility to meet or exceed MENC (school requirements) for student instruments to give the player the best possible performance experience and inspiration. USA installed D’Addario Prelude strings provide a better tonal quality, longer string life and maximum playability. A good quality maple German Teller bridge is carved so the feet match the top plate curvatures closely to transfer the most string vibration possible to produce the best tone and volume. A composite tailpiece with four integrated fine tuners makes the fine tuning of all strings easy and convenient for the student and teacher. A fiberglass bow gives the student a reliable camber without warping. The Mongolian horsehair ensures that the rosin adheres well and gives an even draw to the bow across the strings. The tough student friendly thermoplastic case with aluminum valance is an industry standard to protect instruments from weather elements and minor mishaps. "

Leave a Review

Leave a Reply

Name:

Email:(Your email will not be publicly displayed.)

Please type the letters and numbers shown in the image.

Click the image to see another captcha.

William Lewis & Son is one of the oldest stringed instrument brands still in production. The fine violinist, William Lewis was born in Devonshire, England in 1837 and moved to the US in 1850 residing near Bellevue, Ohio. Lewis was a violin prodigy performing concerts at only 8 years old. In 1862, he moved to Chicago and worked for the music house of Root & Cady which was destroyed in 1871 by the Great Chicago Fire. Ebenezer Towner Root then became a partner with William Lewis and formed the music house know as Root and Lewis.

Then in 1874, William Lewis, concerned by the lack of quality instruments and service available for his students, formed the Chicago Music Company with new partners Newell and Gibbs. Located in the heart of the Chicago business district, players from the finest symphony orchestras in the world would often visit Lewis' shop to have their own instruments appraised or serviced. Amati, Guarneri, and Stradivarius instruments were commonly in inventory.

William later renamed the business Wm. Lewis Company in 1886 and then eventually to Wm. Lewis & Son in 1896. Fred Lewis succeeded his father as president of the company. In 1995, the 121 year old string maker was purchased by the Selmer